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Wilfrid Wilson Gibson
Wilfrid Wilson Gibson (2 October 1878 - 26 May 1962) was an English poet, a member of the Georgian poets, who was notable for drawing "inspiration from the workaday life of ordinary provincial English families."Wilfred Wilson Gibson, Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. Web, Aug. 25, 2014. Life Youth and education Gibson was born in Hexham, Northumberland. He was educated in local schools, but never attended university. Career His earliest published poem appeared in The Spectator in 1897. The collections Stonefolds and On The Threshold, were published by the Samurai Press in 1907, and followed by The Web of Life in 1908.'"Young men who knew that the age demanded something new in poetry were impressed by the austerity of his little 'working class' plays". (Joy Grant, Harold Monro & the Poetry Bookshop (1966), p.19. Whistler p.281 remarks on the colloquial, homespun realism that at first was admired in Gibson. Gibson left the north for London in 1914 after his mother died. In London he met both Edward Marsh and Rupert Brooke, becoming a close friend and later Brooke's literary executor (with Lascelles Abercrombie and Walter de la Mare).Gibson met de la Mare, and quite a number of other poets, through Marsh in 1912. "It was with de la Mare that Gibson was to make the closest friendship. Gentle and unlucky, he himself best fitted Brooke's description of those good-hearted and simple and nice poets he wanted to protect." Theresa Whistler, Imagination of the Heart: The Life of Walter de la Mare (1993), p.205 and 208. Print. This was at the period when the initial Georgian Poetry poetry anthology was being planned; Gibson was an insider.Paul Delany, The Neo-Pagans (1987), p.199, writes of a business lunch 19 September 1912 at Marsh's flat, with Gibson, John Drinkwater, Harold Monro and Arundel del Re. Gibson was a founder of the Dymock Poets, a community of writers who settled briefly, before the outbreak of World War I, in the village of Dymock in north Gloucestershire.Famous People of Herefordshire, Monmouthshire and Royal Forest of Dean at royalforestofdean.info He died in Virgina Water, Surrey. Writing During the early part of his writing life, Gibson wrote poems that featured the macabre, such as "Flannan Isle," based on a real life mystery. Despite his residence in London and later on in Gloucestershire, many of Gibson's poems both then and later, have Northumberland settings: Hexham's Market Cross; Hareshaw; and The Kielder Stone. Others deal with poverty and passion amid wild Northumbrian landscapes. Still others are devoted to fishermen, industrial workers and miners, often alluding to local ballads and the rich folk-song heritage of the northeast. Critical reputation Gibson's reputation was eclipsed somewhat by the Ezra Pound-T.S. Eliot school of Modernist poetry. The Literary Encyclopedia] states that his reputation plummeted.[http://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4980 The Literary Encyclopedia] Whistler says that "Gibson's was the saddest fate of all the Georgians. Once acclaimed as the leader of an exciting new movement, when that movement came into derision the critics found in him the epitome of its vices."Whistler, 282. However, his work remained popular with some critics. In 1927 A. Clutton-Brock considered Gibson alongside Eliot, AE, Herbert Read and James Stephens, concluding that "Mr Gibson's poetry... has its own specific qualities and is, in its essentials unique".A. Clutton-Brock "Five Modern Poets," Times Literary Supplement, 24 February, 1927, 113-114., In 1942 Philip Tomlinson referred to Gibson as "this distinguished poet." Times Literary Supplement 31 January 1942, 57. Recognition Gibson's poetry was included by Yeats in the 1936 Oxford Book of Modern Verse. Publications Poetry *''The Mountain Lovers''. London: Elkin Mathews, 1902. *''The Queen's Vigil, and other song. London: Elkin Mathews, 1902. *Urlyn the Harper, and other song. London: Elkin Mathews, 1902. *The Golden Helm, and other verse. London: Elkin Mathews, 1903. *The Nets of Love. London: Elkin Mathews, 1905. *''Stonefolds. Cranleigh, Surrey, UK: Samurai Press, 1907. *''On the Threshold''. Cranleigh, Surrey, UK: Samurai Press, 1907. *''The Web of Life: A book of poems''. Cranleigh, Surrey, UK: Samurai Press, 1908. *''Akra the Slave. London: Elkin Mathews, 1910. *Fires. (3 volumes), London: Elkin Mathews, 1912; (1 volume), New York: Macmillan, 1912. [https://archive.org/details/firesgib01gibsuoft ''Book I: The Stone, and other tales], Book II: The Ovens, and other tales, Book III: The Hare, and other tales. *''Borderlands and Thoroughfares. (2 volumes), London: Elkin Mathews, 1914; (1 volume), New York: Macmillan, 1914. ''Book I: Borderlands, Book II: Thoroughfares. *''New Numbers'' (by Wilfrid Wilson Gibson, Rupert Brooke, Lascelles Abercrombie, & John Drinkwater). Ryton, Dymock, Gloucester, UK: Crypt House Press, 1914. *''Battle. London: Elkin Mathews, 1915 **published in U.S. as ''Battle, and other poems. New York: Macmillan, 1916. *''Friends. London: Elkin Mathews, 1916. *Poems, 1904-1917. New York: Macmillan, 1917. *Livelihood: Dramatic reveries. London & New York: Macmillan, 1917. *Whin. London: Macmillan, 1918. **published in U.S. as ''Hill-tracks. New York: Macmillan, 1918. *''Twenty-three Selected Poems. London: Atheneum Literature Dept., 1919. *''Home: A book of poems. Westminster, UK: C.W. Beaumont, 1920. *''Neighbours. London & New York: Macmillan, 1920. *Krindlesyke. London: Macmillan, 1922. *''Sixty-three Poems (selected by Edward Adams Parker). London: Macmillan, 1924. *''I Heard a Sailor''. London: Macmillan, 1925. *''Collected Poems, 1905-1925''. London: Macmillan, 1925. *''The Early Whistler'' (illustrated by John Nash). London: Faber & Gwyer (Ariel Poems No. 6), 1927; New York: William Edwin Rudge, 1927. *''The Golden Room, and other poems''. London: Macmillan, 1928. *''Hazards''. London: Macmillan, 1930. *''Wilfrid Wilson Gibson''. London: Ernest Benn (Augustan Poets), 1931. *''Highland Dawn''. Bradford, UK: Beamsley House, 1932. *''Islands: Poems, 1930-1932. London: Macmillan, 1932. *''Fuel (poems & a play in verse). London: Macmillan, 1934. *''Coming and Going''. London & New York: Oxford University Press, 1938. *''The Alert''. London & New York: Oxford University Press, 1941. *''Challenge''. London & New York: Oxford University Press, 1942. *''The Searchlights''. London & New York: Oxford University Press, 1943. *''The Outpost''. London & New York: Oxford University Press, 1944. *''Solway Ford, and other poems'' (selected by Charles Williams). London: Faber, 1945. *''Coldknuckles''. London: Frederick Muller, 1947. *''Homecoming: An anthology of one hundred and twenty-five poems celebrating the 125th anniversary of Wilfrid Wilson Gibson's birth''. Steel, Hexham, Northumberland, UK: Wagtail Press, 2003. Plays *''The Stonefolds. Cranleigh, UK: Samurai Press, 1907 **also published as ''Stonefolds. London: Elkin Mathews, 1916. *''On the Threshold. Cranleigh, Surrey, UK: Samurai Press, 1907. *Daily Bread'' (18 verse plays). (3 volumes), London: Elkin Mathews, 1910; (1 volume), New York: Macmillan, 1912. Book I, Book II *''Womenkind: A play in one act. London: David Nutt, 1912; New York: Macmillan, 1912. *''Kestrel Edge, and other plays. London: Macmillan, 1924. *''Between Fairs: A comedy''. London: Macmillan, 1928. *''Within Four Walls: Five short plays''. London: Fortune Press, 1950. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:William Wilfrid Gibson, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Aug. 25, 2014. See also *The Dymock poets *Georgian poets *List of British poets References Fonds *Elizabeth Whitcomb Houghton Collection, containing letters by Gibson Notes External links ;Poems *"Flannan Isle" *Wilfrid Wilson Gibson in Modern British Poetry: "Prelude," "The Stone," "Sight" *Wilfrid Wilson Gibson in The New Poetry: An Anthology: "Color," "Oblivion," "Tenants," "Gold," "On Hampstead Heath" *Battle" in The New Poetry: "The Going," "The Joke," "In the Ambulance," "Hit," "The Housewife," "Hill-Born," "The Fear," "Back" *Wilfrid Wilson Gibson in Georgian Poetry 1913-15 (3 poems) *Wilfrid Wilson Gibson in Georgian Poetry 1920-22 (5 poems) *Wllfrid Wilson Gibson 1878-1962 at the Poetry Foundation *Gibson at Poetry: A magazine of verse, 1912-1922: "The Tram," "On Hampstead Heath," "A Catch for Singing," "In the Orchestra," "The Going," "A Joke," "Nightmare," "In the Ambulance," "Hit," "The Housewife," "Hill-born," "The Fear," "Back," "Color," "Oblivion," "Tenants," "Gold," "The News" *Wilfrid Wilson Gibson at AllPoetry (77 poems) ;Audio / video *"Breakfast" *Wilfrid Wilson Gibson poems at YouTube *Wilfrid Wilson Gibson poems at LibriVox ;Books * *Wilfrid Wilson Gibson at Amazon.com ;About *Wilfrid Wilson Gibson in the Encyclopædia Britannica *Wilfrid Wilson Gibson at Spartacus Eductional *Wilfrid Wilson Gibson (1878-1962) at Friends of the Dymock Poets *Wilfrid Wilson Gibson (1878-1962) at the War Poets Association. Category:1878 births Category:1962 deaths Category:English poets Category:People from Hexham Category:British Army soldiers Category:British Army personnel of World War I Category:British World War I poets Category:20th-century poets Category:Poets Category:English-language poets Category:Dymock poets Category:Georgian poets Category:War poets